Mikey Mike

Saints. Noles. Football.

[Mikey Mike @MikeNolesBest]

What do you think of this edit @PFTCommenter

[Boardroom @boardroom]

Nikola Jokic’s warmup t-shirt tonight is too good.

(h/t @NickDePaula)

[Mikey Mike @MikeNolesBest]

@bmarcello And we got Ashton Daniels in return 😂

[m @mj_a_w]

dudes rock

[Brent Albrecht @RadioBrent]

I understand the rule but to ME, this is more insane than what Bryson did

[Mikey Mike @MikeNolesBest]

T29 Sunday morning, time to get behind the podium. Sounds like @McIlroyRory !

[Golf Digest @GolfDigest]

"I won't pretend to be up here and defend Bryson. I'm not particularly fond of him. I think a lot of it's performative. I think a lot of it's for attention."

Rory McIlroy commented on Bryson DeChambeau’s two-shot penalty at Royal Birkdale and how he handled it. 🗣️

[Aakash Gupta @aakashgupta]

In Germany, a talented 14-year-old earns his club money. In America, his parents pay the club $15,000 a year.

That single inversion explains why "we will not" is the most accurate line ever written about US soccer.

FIFA built a global system for this. Training compensation and solidarity payments send a cut of every transfer fee back to the clubs that developed the player, from age 12 onward. Develop one future pro and your academy gets paid for a decade. Barcelona's La Masia, Ajax, every Bundesliga academy runs on this logic. The kid is the asset.

US Soccer refuses to enforce those rules. When Seattle's Crossfire Premier claimed its $60,000 share of DeAndre Yedlin's transfer to Tottenham, it got nothing. Claims on the Dempsey and Bradley transfers died partly because the federation couldn't even produce the youth training records.

So American clubs earn zero dollars when a kid turns pro. They earn when a kid enrolls. Which makes the parent the customer, and the product is whatever keeps the parent writing checks: travel tournaments, hotel weekends, $500 showcase events, private training at $100 an hour. Elite pathways run $8,000 to $20,000 a year. A comparable academy spot in Italy costs about 120 euros.

Follow the incentive one level deeper and it gets darker. A club dependent on fees can't cut its weakest paying players, so rosters optimize for retention over development. The scouting pool shrinks to families who can afford the cliff, which appears around age 11, exactly when development matters most. The country runs a talent filter sorted by household income instead of ability.

Every four years someone proposes fixing this. The proposal always requires the people profiting from the $15,000 model to vote themselves out of business.

They will not.

[Jordan Elliott @splash_cousin]

If you think this is bad just think about the Italians who didn't get to see their team in the World Cup AND have to watch Pulisic play for an entire season

[Jeff Eisenband @JeffEisenband]

“Sir, can U.S. Soccer appeal the red card?”

“No, they cannot.”

“So how is Folarin Balogun cleared to play?”

“Nobody knows.”

[Mikey Mike @MikeNolesBest]

#FREEBALOGUN

[Mikey Mike @MikeNolesBest]

We’ve got @GreggBerhalter_ criticizing a team that’s had more success in 4 matches than he had in 8 years. WHAT A TIME!

[FanDuel @FanDuel]

Gregg Berhalter says the U.S. isn't setting up Christian Pulisic well enough for success 😬

"I don't think there was enough intention to get Christian the ball in those (wide) positions."

@RobStoneONFOX | #USMNT

[milani @brvnomilani]

as partidas já são no mesmo horário.. daqui a pouco tem dia sem partida meu deus..

[qǝlɐɔ @EMAWCaleb]

Watching Poch ball after 7 years of Gregg Berhalter

[talmon joseph smith @talmonsmith]

"Alexi left us!"

Zlatan: “America, you’re welcome”

[Mikey Mike @MikeNolesBest]

Best European stadium so far

[Ultras Clips @ultras_clips]

🏟️⛰️ This is the Stadium that will be host Champions League next Season, as Como have qualifed for the first time 🤩

[B/R Football @brfootball]

Spurs avoid relegation on the final day of the season with West Ham dropping down to the Championship 😮‍💨

[B. @InvertTheWing]

If these lot cannot get a point vs. Everton, AT HOME, on the final day, relegation is completely deserved.

[TheN17Way @then17way]

Genuinely struggling to see the “touch on the ball” that deemed this not a pen 🤷‍♂️

#THFC #COYS

[Mikey Mike @MikeNolesBest]

@sammorril No Munich???

[Not Match of the Day @NOT_MOTD]

Spurs are ready.

[Mikey Mike @MikeNolesBest]

And a barstool feature @Jack_pana33 LFG

[Barstool Sports @barstoolsports]

Chris Gotterup missed a wedding because he was busy golfing

His boys got to witness his WM Open win back home